I’m going to shamelessly self-promote the show I’m directing by sending you to this website. Just click the pretty buttons and buy yourself some tickets.
Feb6
Author Archives: errhode
Feb4
The Flood
I was over at MIT this evening, running some rehearsals for The Vagina Monologues, completely unaware that there was no water until one of my actresses mentioned that she couldn’t shower in her dorm. As it turns out, a water main broke on Broadway, right in front of the Marriott, causing most of MIT and a good part of Cambridge to be without running water for the evening. After rehearsals, I headed over to Putz to hang out with a pair of foolios. Being hungry, we headed up to my neck of the woods where the dihydrogen-monoxide was still flowing.
But first, we made our way to the scene of the incident to survey the damage, dodging the firemen at the hotel by going around the back. It was quite the sight — a small bubbling geyser in the middle of the street, which had turned into a river. I couldn’t quite gauge how deep it was, but I’d guess 6-8 inches from curb to curb. We were pretty much at the head waters of the newly formed Broadway River, but from what I could see, it’s mighty waters flowed down for at least a block or two.
We left the river and headed down to the T, where we discovered that the main power was out. The lights that were on seemed to be running off of the very loud backup generator. On the plus side, since the card swipes on the turnstiles weren’t working, our ride to Davis was free. Which doesn’t mean much to me, since I have a T Pass.
During our hearty meal at Redbones, we had a water fight*, perhaps to celebrate the fact that we had the luxury of wasting it, while those back at MIT were stuck with nothing. And now I’m going to take a shower because I can.
* When I say that “we” had a water fight, I mean that Fucking Amal was spraying us with his straw.
Feb3
Vagina Warriors, Part 2
It has come to my attention that certain readers aren’t actually aware of what a Vagina Warrior is, or why I am proud to be one. Apparently, some of these readers call my father, slightly concerned, as his comment didn’t make things any clearer. And so, direct from the flap of the book:
Every year from February to March, local activists raise awareness and funds through benefit productions of The Vagina Monologues and other events as part of V-Day, a global movement founded by Eve Ensler. Vagina Warriors – people committed to ending violence against women and girls around the world – are at the heart of V-Day.
And now you know…
Feb2
Now who’s crazy?
As I made my way back to my office after lunch, I observed a man who appeared to be talking to himself rather loudly while sitting on a bench. Being a hospital in the city, it’s not completely out of the ordinary for slightly crazy people to hang around in the lobbies. A nurse, observing the same behavior I had, approached the man and asked if he needed to be helped.
The man looked at her slightly confused. Then he took the nearly invisible earpiece out of his ear and said, “Sorry, I’m on the phone. Could you repeat that?” The nurse sheepishly mumbled “Nevermind” and went on her way.
Feb2
Whistle Pig Day
‘Tis February 2. The day the National League was founded. But since I’ve always been an American League kind of girl, I’ll not dwell on that. February 2’s other claim to fame is, of course, Groundhog’s Day and Punxsutawny Phil. This year, Phil saw his shadow, meaning six more weeks of winter for us. Personally, I can’t wait for another snow storm to blow through with 3 more feet of snow.
On the other hand, Phil’s not the only predictor these days. Wiarton Willie, the albino resident of Ontario, did not see his shadow and is predicting an early spring. But then again, he’s Canadian and can we really trust those Canucks?
Feb1
Vagina Warriors
I got my copy of Vagina Warriors this weekend. I flipped through the pages and sure enough, page 78, there we are. And on page 79, we’ve been quoted. Yes, it’s fairly evident by the large amount of wrinkles that I pulled that shirt out of the dirty laundry pile in order to wear it that day. But, hey, that dirty shirt got me in a book. A book selling all over the country.
A friend of mine from New York e-mailed me to tell me that he saw it while perusing the Virgin Megastore. I think this might be my fifteen minutes of fame.
Mom – Don’t buy it. Your birthday is soon.
Jan29
The Plan
My superstitious side of me, which admittedly is very small, has this suspicion. I am good luck for baseball teams.
Think about it. I was born in Minnesota. Six years later the Twins win their first World Series (unless you count the ones won by the Senators when the team was in Washington). Many years later, I move to Boston. Four years after that, the Red Sox win their first World Series in 86 years, breaking the supposed Curse of the Bambino. It has to be all me, right?
So I have a plan.
I’ve always had a soft spot for the Chicago Cubs, possibly because WGN broadcasted in Minnesota as a cable station and I would occasionally watch games and listen to Harry Caray do the play-by-play. The Cubs have an even longer drought than the Sox when it comes to World Series – going back to 1908. I figure, if I move to Chicago for grad school (and I’ve applied to two schools in the Chicago area), in about five years, the Cubs will win the World Series. And now that they’ve traded Sosa, who’s been losing his touch, to Baltimore, they’ve freed up the money to rebuild the team into a winner.
Of course, this could backfire if the White Sox grab my good luck instead. If a team from the AL Central is going to win anything, it better be the Twins. Maybe I should think about this plan a little more.
Jan27
Two bits
After having not seen a new state quarter since I came across Texas last summer, this past week I came across not one, but two quarters I hadn’t seen before. Iowa, true to it’s lack of personality, has a one room school house on it. Apparently it is based on the Grant Wood painting, “Arbor Day.” And here I was expecting corn.
But I wasn’t entirely disappointed. For today, after making change for Anat, I acquired Wisconsin. Not only does the Wisconsin quarter feature an ear of corn, but also a cow and — most importantly — a wheel of cheese. Now that’s more like the state stereotypes I grew up mocking.
(Before I put my foot in my mouth, I looked up the Minnesota quarter… lakes, loons, and fishing. That seems perfectly respectable and representative to me.)
Jan25
E-bay silliness
Look! You can buy Professor Wilczek’s DNA!
I should have swiped his dixie cup from one of the many physics open houses I went to. I could be rolling in dough by now. Alternatively, I’ve been to a few parties and gatherings with his daughter. I could have easily taken her cup without much fuss– that’s half his DNA and half his wife’s DNA in one batch.
Oh, the opportunities I missed at MIT. It wasn’t about the education – it was about collecting DNA from Nobel Laureates.
Jan24
Quotable Quotes
Every year, the American Film Institute releases it’s list of the top 100 something-related-to-movies of all time. This past year it was songs, with “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” topping the list. For the upcoming year, they’ve announced that their list will be “100 years… 100 movie quotes,” and the 400 quotes on the ballot are listed here.
Not surprisingly, Casablanca, one of my favorite movies, has the most candidates with 7. But surprisingly (at least to me), “… maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life,” is not one of them. On the other hand, looking at the Casablanca quotes that are nominated, I’d only want to remove “Play it, Sam. Play ‘As Time Goes By.'” While this is the direct quote from the movie, the line everyone remembers, which was never actually spoken, is “Play it again, Sam.”
Other highlights of the list that amused, surprised, or delighted me…
Colossus of Rhode 